Tag: #formativeassessment

Tech Tip Tuesday- Blabberize

 Blabberize is a free online tool that allows you to quickly create talking images, providing some great opportunities to foster student engagement and collaboration. 

“Tech gives the quietest student a voice.”

Jerry Blumengarten

Ideas on how you can use Blabberize in your classroom?

  • Have a piece of student writing plus their drawing?  Take a pic of the image, add it to Blabberize and have your students make their writing come alive by making their drawing “say” what they wrote!  (Instant engagement)  See this example.
  • Students could show what they know by making historical figures defend their decisions, explain their actions, etc… in short videos; use it as a quick formative check or as part of a longer project.  See student example here about Sam Houston or check out this humorous one about George Custer.
  • ELA connections: Students could put words to novel characters or a talking poetry activity.
  • Foreign language:  Have students record their voices practicing Spanish set to an image or a picture.  See this example.   

See video tutorial below on how to make a blabber.  Note:  create an account in order to save your blabber. 

Wordwall.net

Featured Website of the Week!

What is wordwall.net? It is an online platform in which teachers can create interactive activities by utilizing a variety of templates or use pre-made ones that fit their content area and learning intention. Teachers can then embed those activities into Canvas or share the assignment link.

Benefits: Save teacher prep time; make your lessons more interactive and engaging; and get away from paper worksheets! Allow students to practice at their own pace and try again if they need more practice. Teachers can also track student performance! There are many choices of interchangeable exercises!

Gamify your lesson w/ Lottery Game or Extreme Connect 4

Try out either one of these to add gamification into your teaching! Gamifying your lessons is an easy way to boost engagement.

Lottery Game:

  • Display lottery game board on clear touch or make your own chart with numbers (you can add more numbers, or take numbers off depending on how many students/questions you have).
  • Students then solve a set of problems/questions, individually or in groups.  As students solve a problem, they have the teacher check it.  If they are correct, they can write their initials on a number or their choosing on the hundreds chart.  They go back and work on another problem.  When they solve that one, you check it, and if they are correct, they can write their initials on another number.  (You can vary this up; for example, you could have students answer three questions or a full page and then you check and then they can put up their initials on the hundreds chart).    
  • At the end of the time period, you then use a spinner wheel to pick numbers.   The students who initialed the number picked by the spinner wheel receives a prize, or kudos, or whatever you wish to reward students with.  You can choose as many winners as you want.   
  • Easy way to gamify any assignment! Here is a video of a teacher explaining how they play this game.
  • Click here for powerpoint of the gameboard, or click here for an easinote file of the gameboard that you can download and save on your clear touch.

Extreme Connect 4:

  • Be the first group to have 4 sticky notes of the same color in a row to win.
  • How does it work?
  • Gameboard will be projected onto clear touch.
  • Students are in groups of 3-4 students.
  • Teacher can ask questions/prompt or give students handout with questions.
  • Students discuss and respond and write their answers down on sticky notes (Each group has a different colored sticky note) 
  • One member from each team places sticky note on the board before time is up for each question.  The sticky note cannot float- it must sit in the bottom row or directly above another sticky note.
  • If the answer on the sticky note is incorrect, it will be removed from the board.  Any sticky notes that were above the incorrect answer will move down to fill in the space.
  • Here is a power point with a connect 4 board + instructions that you can use or click here for an easinote file that you can save on your clear touch.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Jigsawplanet.com

Create your own puzzles for students to put-together and embed them in canvas!  All you need to do is upload your image and it creates the puzzle for you! Check it out at Jigsawplanet.com

How Can I Use it in the Classroom?

  • Introduce topic
  • Bring attention to an important image, handout, etc…
  • Match vocabulary
  • Sequencing Activities
  • Upload an important handout that you want students to analyze (battles, maps, water cycle, life cycle, periodic table, etc…)
  • Enrichment activities
  • Great way to mix up your teaching to boost engagement.
  • Try out a sample puzzle here.

Grudge Ball

This is a game that your students will love!  It is called Grudge Ball and is better suited for upper elementary to high school.  It is not very techy, but very engaging.  Here is an overview of how the game works.  I used “Explain Everything” as my whiteboard in the tutorial which is also a great tech tool if you need a digital whiteboard in which students can collaborate.  Here is a Grudge Ball template that you can open on your Cleartouch Easinote software ready to go for the game.  

More Feedback for Greater Learning

Quick tools for formative assessment, teacher clarity and questioning resources, and more professional learning posted!

Formative Assessment Ideas

Are you looking for quick tools for formative assessment? Here are a few ideas!

formative assessment quote

Teacher Clarity & Questioning Resources

Are you interested in any of these resources? Fill out this quick request by November 4th and they’ll get ordered for you!

  • The Teacher Clarity Playbook: A hands-on guide to creating learning intentions and success criteria for organized, effective instruction.
  • The Success Criteria Playbook: A hands-on guide to making learning visible and measurable.
  • Questioning Sequences in the Classroom: Ask targeted questions to enhance students reasoning skills and increase rigor in classrooms. Use a four-phase questioning sequence to help students make claims, build sound arguments, and provide evidence to support their points.
questioning

Professional Learning

Looking for credits? New credit opportunities were posted to our Professional Learning page.